top of page
Search
  • Writer's pictureEd Johnson

Weeding out the Mediation News

With the limited access to courts and lawyers mediation is even more so now than ever the best choice to find a resolution for your dispute. Get your dispute resolved now while you can’t go anywhere you can really concentrate on what’s important and what deserves your time and energy.


Northwest Mediation uses Zoom, Skype and FaceTime as well as the phone and emails to resolve disputes so please do not feel that you cannot contact us as there are limits on physical meetings.



We’ve blogged before about the ongoing mediation with Bayer over the allegations that weedkiller Roundup caused non Hodgkin lymphoma.


Now as a result of those talks a $10.9 billion settlement has been achieved with most of the 125,000 claimants. 75% of the ongoing litigated cases will be included and nearly all the pending actions will be settled in this move.


As with many mediations there is no admission made by this huge pay-out (which is separate to a fund set up by Bayer to deal with cases where symptoms have not developed) it is simply an economic settlement.


Down under the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), the New Zealand Nurses Association (NZMA) and Green Cross are all entering mediation with a will to find a resolution to the ongoing nursing dispute with 3000 members over changes in pay and conditions.


The nurses seek pay parity with District Health Board (DHB) nurses from their GP employers.


It goes without saying that the nurses have been on the front line in testing in covid cases, which so far New Zealand has been dealing with rather better than most countries.


Any strike will impact immediately on the country’s ability to track and trace any outbreaks.



You’ll recall our ongoing comments about the need for mediation in housing cases, particularly in landlord and tenant following the end of support in the US for delaying any enforcements, and a similar process in the UK.




Now the Nevada mediation service involved is looking for help from interpreters, the uptake has been so significant over the months of the outbreak that the service has been well used and keeps expanding. In a mediation there is a need to make sure each side is fairly represented and supported and part of that is the need to be able to understand what is happening, what your options are and to be able to make informed decisions hence the need for interpreters.


Back to New zealand again where Aimee Fisher, Olympian and world championship canoe medalist, joined a mass exodus from Gordon Walker’s sprint team amid allegations of bulling and intimidation by the management of the team. (I know that's a kayak by the way)



Aimee’s dispute with Canoe Racing NZ (CRNZ) has led to calls for High Performance Sport NZ to act as mediator.


Aimee’s departure comes after her team mates Rebecca Cole, Britney Ford, Elise Hegarth, Briar McLeely and Kim Thompson and have already left wiping out the whole of the K4 women’s team so if there is to be hope of getting the team back on board and for medals in the 2020 (1?) Olympics mediation is the way forward.


Northwest Mediation has been involved in some large cases, never 7 figures but 6 has been involved in settlements we have mediated, this article sets out stages at which litigators might want to think about mediation being part of the process.


I would always argue there is never a time not to mediate, but the best time is the earliest, the sooner you start saving money by mediating not litigating the sooner your dispute is resolved or the issues narrowed to the ones that really matter.


The article discusses the unique qualities of larger cases which allow for this wider out of the box thinking, in smaller cases it can be more difficult to see the benefit but as most cases still settle near or at court why go to the expense and delay of months if not years of litigation if the case could (and should) settle at the outset, before you’ve wasted all that energy which could have been ploughed back into your business?

As we’ve said before choose to mediate early and resolve your issues effectively, timeously, and with less stress and costs than going to your solicitor. You have an interest in the outcome the sooner you get round the mediation table the quicker you can move forward and avoid the grilling a cross examination in court would put you through.


By having a deep and meaningful discussions with parties the mediator elicits what the true “red-lines” are and where there is the potential for compromise, it is with this structured period of reflection that the parties are then able to reach an accord.


The flexible nature of mediation and the possible outcomes make it an ideal way to resolve disputes in an ever changing world and the open nature of discussions in mediation whilst remaining confidential allows all sides to engage fully in the process and understand the needs of all involved allowing parties to reach a conclusion which both sides can live with and move on.


There are so many situations which could have been resolved by early intervention of mediation it continues to surprise me the lengths the public will go to avoid referral.


Whether you need a mediator to help out with a construction matter in the Northwest, or council’s plans in Cheshire, a civil mediator in London, a commercial mediator in Manchester, a dispute resolution for your family in Liverpool, a neighbourhood mediation in Stockport, then our mediators at Northwest Mediation can help.


Mediation is cheaper, quicker and less stressful than running any case to court, it can help with any dispute whether it's an employment issue or the sale at an under value of a property, a fight with a neighbour, family issues, commercial disputes, civil mediation or inheritance, wills and probate arguments contact Northwest Mediation on 07931318347 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk

neighbour mediation; commercial dispute resolution; civil mediation; commercial dispute; corporate dispute; commercial mediator; family mediation; inheritance wills probate mediation; property mediator; civil mediator; civil litigation; fast track mediation; injury mediation

0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Mediation child arrangements

I had to apologise to the neighbours today for shouting at the radio (radio 4). I was listening to a perfectly interesting program on "lady killers" involving the historical case of a mother who alleg

bottom of page